By Gideon Nma Scott, Jr.
Since the end of the civil war in Liberia, there has been a quest for justice, especially for the at least 250,000 people who lost their lives and the millions more who were subjected to various forms of humiliation and torture, and also for those whose properties were destroyed.
The scars of the war are still visible on the faces of many of those who experienced the carnage, many of whom witnessed either a family member being killed in their presence or saw their wives, daughters, or female relatives being raped in their presence.
Children were turned into warriors while parents were turned into laborers, sex slaves, gatekeepers for commanding officers (COs), and moreover, the rich were made poor and vice versa.
In 2009, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up to probe into the issues that led to the over 13 years of violence and recommend to the Liberian people on its findings.
But, to the dismay of us all, the intention of the establishment of such body was not made clear, thereby leading to its misinterpretation by the very persons it sought to investigate.
Furthermore, rather than being contrite, those who went before the TRC used the platform as an opportunity to brag about their participation in the war, outlining some of their decisions and those who fell prey to the barrel of their guns, which made many Liberians to believe that the objective of the body was not properly explained, or misunderstood, and in the worst-case scenario, abused, thereby devaluing the entire process.
General Prince Y. Johnson-INPFL and George S. Boley- LPC
Thus, the quest for a more permanent body with set and clearer objectives where those aggrieved from the war could find solace, began to reverberate among the people. And ah! The World Crimes Court was a place where they thought they could find justice.
To test the water, and though not for crimes he committed in Liberia, the International Criminal Court arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced former President, Charles Taylor, for aiding and abetting in the Sierra Leonean crisis that saw many Sierra-Leoneans maimed, mutilated, and killed, while also leaving millions of United States Dollars’ worth of properties destroyed.
But to the displeasure of many of those seeking justice in Liberia, many politicians used the establishment of the War Crimes Court as a satire to reduce it to a mere political rhetoric, more-so, for building political fortitudes. Many of them also used it to get the attention of some key figures who were accused of committing some of the “worst” atrocities during the war.
Thomas Yaya Nimley-MODEL
Also, many of those who led fighting forces, including the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) of Charles Taylor, the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL) of Prince Y. Johnson, United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO), Liberia United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) of Sekou Corneh, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) of Thomas Yaya Nimely, and the Liberia Peace Council of George Borley, disregarded the thirst for justice by the larger population and sought protection from their kinsmen through their elections to the National Legislature, or by their appointment to top government positions.
On a good note, the visit of the United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Justice, Dr. Beth Van Schaack, has rekindled the hopes of many persons who felt that their call for justice, as politically as it was being seen, would be realized, and those who bear greater responsibility for the war would finally be brought to book.
I believe that when the call for justice is appropriately responded to by all parties, the true definition and sense of reconciliation will be achieved, which will set the pace for socio-economic development, financial viability, and the full benefit of the country’s natural wealth by all people would be achieved.
I thank the United States Government for assuring us that the US Government stands ready to support the the setting up of the court to prosecute perpetrators of atrocities during the country’s civil war.
Moreover, I appreciate the tireless efforts of many international and national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, community-based organizations and individuals who are never resting, to ensure that we are fully reconciled through the eyes of justice- for there is no peace without justice.
The thought of the son of a professional Kru woman.
